Hi there BBQ enthusiasts.
I would like to ask some clarification regarding a few issues that popped up in my quest to learn how to ‘warm’ smoke, i.e. not ‘cold’ or ‘hot’, cured sausage. I am aware there’s a lot that has been asked already and I have diligently written notes and experimented, I however still seem to miss a few simple pieces of the puzzle.
+++
These months I have started smoking cured sausage (various meats like beef/pork/duck/venison/turkey) using prague powder #1 on a medium-ish 60 gallon offset smoker.
My question is: How do I get the heat needed to get to 152F internal WITHOUT having to go so hot that I render the fat?
My current proces:
I cure two days before, grind and case one day before, the links take a nap in the fridge overnight, the next day 30min before going on the smoker I take them out and fan them to get them a bit drier.
The smoker is set at 140F-150F initially, on they go! I need to get to 140F internal within 4 hours if I understand correctly. That means within 3.5 hours on the smoker when you substract the time they were drying before.
I normally get to the 140F internal within time, all good! BUT getting to 152F internal off course requires more heat. I read that the internal temperature of the meat trails the smoker by around 15F AND that I should not really cross 170F smoker temperature to not render the fat. If my internal temperature trails 170F by 15F that should theoretically (over time) get my internal to 170 -15 = 155F. Sounds doable, but ….
My links almost stall around 140F-ish even if I smoke an extra 2 hours or so. I have read people that say you just have to ‘dig in and give it lots of time’, but I have seen several recipes and watched a lot of videos (some of them from Leroy ad Lewis BBQ, chuds BBQ, etc) where they smoke to completion WITHIN 4 hours.
How is this achieved??? I would like a link that is safe, can be stored, later heated up without people having to reach a ‘minimal temperature’ before being eaten, as I can’t control that variable if I am not the one cooking.
Am I missing something obvious here?
What would the alternatives be? Smoke at 150-160F till you hit 140F internal, pull them while they are still plump, cool them rapidly, rest and bag them, and rely on heating to a minimal temperature when cooking with them in the future? That also means they can’t bloom at room temperature after the smoking session as I understand it.
I hope I expressed myself clearly here. Any questions please let me know
.
EDIT: I just bumped into the concept of pasteurization tables, which seems to add a whole dimension to thinks. It states that if you stay at 140F for at least 9 minutes you are still going to be safe with ‘non-intact’ i.e ground meats. Is that correct? That would solve the issue immediately.
++++
One last thought. Prior to smoking I fan the links at room temperature for half an our but don’t dare to do it for too long as is eats away from my ‘4-hour to 140F’ window. Is this correct or am I overthinking this? Resting in the fridge they stay a tad softish.
Like I said, questions of someone who is really eager to learn but who seems to miss a little part of the puzzle.
Any suggestions, advice or remarks would be really appreciated.
Thanks a million!
Keep that
up ![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Dikkie
I would like to ask some clarification regarding a few issues that popped up in my quest to learn how to ‘warm’ smoke, i.e. not ‘cold’ or ‘hot’, cured sausage. I am aware there’s a lot that has been asked already and I have diligently written notes and experimented, I however still seem to miss a few simple pieces of the puzzle.
+++
These months I have started smoking cured sausage (various meats like beef/pork/duck/venison/turkey) using prague powder #1 on a medium-ish 60 gallon offset smoker.
My question is: How do I get the heat needed to get to 152F internal WITHOUT having to go so hot that I render the fat?
My current proces:
I cure two days before, grind and case one day before, the links take a nap in the fridge overnight, the next day 30min before going on the smoker I take them out and fan them to get them a bit drier.
The smoker is set at 140F-150F initially, on they go! I need to get to 140F internal within 4 hours if I understand correctly. That means within 3.5 hours on the smoker when you substract the time they were drying before.
I normally get to the 140F internal within time, all good! BUT getting to 152F internal off course requires more heat. I read that the internal temperature of the meat trails the smoker by around 15F AND that I should not really cross 170F smoker temperature to not render the fat. If my internal temperature trails 170F by 15F that should theoretically (over time) get my internal to 170 -15 = 155F. Sounds doable, but ….
My links almost stall around 140F-ish even if I smoke an extra 2 hours or so. I have read people that say you just have to ‘dig in and give it lots of time’, but I have seen several recipes and watched a lot of videos (some of them from Leroy ad Lewis BBQ, chuds BBQ, etc) where they smoke to completion WITHIN 4 hours.
How is this achieved??? I would like a link that is safe, can be stored, later heated up without people having to reach a ‘minimal temperature’ before being eaten, as I can’t control that variable if I am not the one cooking.
Am I missing something obvious here?
What would the alternatives be? Smoke at 150-160F till you hit 140F internal, pull them while they are still plump, cool them rapidly, rest and bag them, and rely on heating to a minimal temperature when cooking with them in the future? That also means they can’t bloom at room temperature after the smoking session as I understand it.
I hope I expressed myself clearly here. Any questions please let me know
![Backhand index pointing right :point_right: 👉](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f449.png)
++++
One last thought. Prior to smoking I fan the links at room temperature for half an our but don’t dare to do it for too long as is eats away from my ‘4-hour to 140F’ window. Is this correct or am I overthinking this? Resting in the fridge they stay a tad softish.
Like I said, questions of someone who is really eager to learn but who seems to miss a little part of the puzzle.
Any suggestions, advice or remarks would be really appreciated.
Thanks a million!
Keep that
![Fire :fire: 🔥](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f525.png)
Dikkie
Last edited: